North Carolina duo Mandolin Orange are bringing their UK tour to Nottingham in January and you can expect a set laced with bluegrass, country and folk.

Who's in the band?

Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz.

How do you describe your music?

Recently the concept of “songwriter pickin’ music” popped into our heads. Everything we do is very lyrically-driven, but we put a lot of energy into bluegrass and old time playing as well, so that works its way into our original material.

How did you come by your band name?

It’s been too long! But when we first started, Andrew played a little loaner mandolin that was orange and round, so that may have sparked the idea.

(Image: Scott McCormick)

When did you know a life in music was for you?

For Andrew it was always inevitable. For me it just unfolded bit by bit, after Andrew and I started playing together. It’s been fun to figure out as we go!

How does the songwriting process work for you?

It’s a pretty private and personal process for Andrew. It usually happens late at night, or in the wee hours of the morning. Often melody first, lyrics in tandem with that. We work on arranging them together, but I usually hear it come to life before we sit down to play it together.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

It changes every time. Sometimes it’s introspective, and other times taking in a lot from the outside world.

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Always the mandolin greats. David Grisman, Monroe Brothers. A few Christmas classics at the current moment.

Is there such a thing as a typical day for you?

Not at all.

How's life on the road?

It’s gotten easier. Even though the trips themselves haven’t gotten easy, just like anything you do over and over, you get better at it. We know what to expect from the day-to-day, and how to care for ourselves when we’re out there!

What would you like the audience to take away from your shows?

I guess we hope they listen, engage with the songs. Songs are so personal for the listener, and that seems to be how they have such an impact. They mean different things to different people. It’s so encouraging to see people really become involved with the songs, whether it helped them reflect on something, or told the story of an experience they had, or maybe even helped them think about the world differently. I think that’s rare, and music is one of the few things that can do that for people. But that said, some listening experiences aren't about thinking, so if folks are just taking in the sounds and the notes, that's great too.

What can we expect from the gig?

No stage acrobatics or autotune, but lots of harmony and mandolin licks.

Tell us something about yourself the audience might be surprised to hear.

Our goal for this UK tour is to abandon coffee and drink only tea for caffeine needs. We’ll see if we’re holding strong by the time we get to Nottingham.